Hawks Fall to 1-2 with 96-87 Loss to Spurs

Atlanta, GA, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Vladimir Radmanovic (77) defends Atlanta Hawks power forward Mike Scott (32) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 92-75. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

In what was probably the most entertaining Summer League game thus far, the Hawks unfortunately fell at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, 96-87.

It was the Mike Scott show for Atlanta offensively, as the 2nd-year forward finished with 27 points (7-17 FG, 13-13 FT) and 7 rebounds in 32 minutes. This is the type of performance that just screams “Summer League!!”, but Scott has always been an incredibly efficient scorer (take a look at his college PER numbers for a thrill), and I enjoy his offensive game immensely.

Unfortunately, Scott’s performance stood alone in terms of quality, as his sophomore counterpart, John Jenkins, struggled immensely on Monday night. Jenkins shot 4 for 15 from the field including 2 for 8 from three-point distance, and while he was 2nd on the team in scoring (15 points), he had 5 turnovers to just 2 assists. Yikes.

As far as the rookies are concerned, it was really more of the same story. Lucas Nogueira was flying around during his 25-minute stint, and he grabbed 9 rebounds (3 offensive) to go along with 5 fouls and 3 for 3 shooting. He was pushed around by Aron Baynes (who, admittedly, is a grown man at 26 years old) throughout the night, but there were still flashes of positive play. Dennis Schröder managed to commit 6 fouls in only 26 minutes (wow), but again, there were signs of his eccentric upside despite just 2 for 8 shooting.

Jared Cunningham, the least-discussed guaranteed contract on the Hawks roster, played an interesting game. He was 4 for 10 shooting for 12 points, but he had his shot blocked on 3 occasions, and there was a generally negative buzz around him on Twitter. The consensus seems to be that Cunningham doesn’t have a “strength” outside of his athleticism, and he hasn’t done anything to convince me otherwise in admittedly limited action.

The Hawks have the day off on Tuesday before the Summer League “Tournament” begins on Wednesday. Stay tuned.